Vietnam’s Ministry of Health announced two additional COVID-19 cases on Friday morning, both border jumpers from Cambodia.

The two patients were registered in Hai Phong City in the north and Ho Chi Minh City in the south, the health ministry said in a report.

The first case is a 25-year-old Vietnamese woman who has a registered address in the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long.

On Monday, she entered Vietnam illegally via Phu Quoc, an island administered by southern Kien Giang Province, on a fishing boat.

She then traveled to Ho Chi Minh City by sea and road.

She went to FV Hospital in the city for a test on Wednesday.

Her test returned positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.

The patient is being isolated for treatment at a makeshift hospital in outlying Cu Chi District.

The other border jumper is a 25-year-old Vietnamese woman who has a registered address in northern Quang Ninh Province.

She made an unlawful entry into Vietnam with the first patient on Monday.

She flew with another person from Phu Quoc to Hanoi on board flight VJ458 the same day. She went on to travel to Hai Phong City in a private car upon landing at Noi Bai airport in the Vietnamese capital.

On Wednesday, she visited Vinmec Hai Phong Hospital for a test.

Her test came back positive for the novel coronavirus on Thursday. Her companion tested negative.

Contact tracing and regional lockdowns are underway to prevent local transmission.

Vietnam requires all international arrivals to be collectively quarantined for 14 days as a precaution against the virus.

The country has recorded 1,603 domestic cases since the pathogen first hit it on January 23, 2020.

Thirty-five patients have died so far, most having suffered critical pre-existing conditions.

Over 42,000 people had been vaccinated against COVID-19 by 4:00 pm on Thursday, the health ministry said on Friday morning.  

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!